DUPED

09.28.12

Iranian News Agency Fooled by The Onion

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Well that’s embarrassing. Iran’s official FARS News Agency ran a surprising story on its website Friday about a Gallup poll in which 77 percent of rural white Americans said they’d rather go to a baseball game or have a drink with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad than with U.S. President Barack Obama. Additionally, the same poll revealed that 60 percent of rural whites said they at least respected that Ahmadinejad doesn’t hide the fact that he’s Muslim. The problem with all of this—the poll wasn’t real. It was part of a fake story published by satirical website The Onion. D’oh!